


Hurricane Revolt

by garrettwalker



Series: Hurricane Revolt [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Naruto Fusion, Alternate Universe - Politics, BAMF Haruno Sakura, BAMF Tsunade (Naruto), Big Brother Uchiha Itachi, Communism, Gen, Haruno Sakura-centric, Hokage Haruno Sakura, Konohagakure | Hidden Leaf Village, No Uchiha Massacre, Politics, Sakura (Cherry Blossoms), Smart Uzumaki Naruto, Strong Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Itachi Being a Good Brother, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship, Uchiha Sasuke Being an Asshole, Uchiha Sasuke Returns to Konoha, anti-capitalist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-23 19:00:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18555850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/garrettwalker/pseuds/garrettwalker
Summary: Cast;Naruto Uzumaki—outcast cursed with a Nine Tailed Fox Spirit, former member of Team 7Danzo Shimura—disgraced former shinobiSakura Haruno—known for prowess with healing magic, member of Team 7Sasuke Uchiha—prodigy of the Uchiha Clan, younger brother to Itachi, member of Team 7Itachi Uchiha—heir apparent of the Uchiha Clan, captain of Team 7.Tsunade Senju—The Fifth Shadow of Fire, current leader of the Village Hidden by Tree Leaves.This story takes place in the Village Hidden by Tree Leaves, a forest community inhabited by various clans of mystical shinobi. In this tale, Naruto Uzumaki returns to seek retribution on his war-minded village. Team 7 delivers a class analysis of the shinobi system.





	Hurricane Revolt

* * *

Prologue

* * *

On that cold and cloudy night, Naruto Uzumaki road atop a winged snake and carried a heavy scroll on his back. He smiled nervously as he looked down on the village in which he once dwelled. From this height, the village could only be seen as a tall hill and dense forest. Few know the old secret necessary for locating the village by air. Naruto, clad in a jump suit of black and orange, announces to himself, “The day I’ve trained and prepared for; the day I will destroy the Village Hidden by Tree Leaves!”

              Then he dove from the sky and quickly pierced the leafy veil which shields the Village’s buildings from outside view. As he reached the ground, Naruto employed a strange shinobi trick to negate the force of his landing. With no sound produced nor damage to his being, Naruto had infiltrated the borough claimed by the Uchiha Clan.

              Naruto used masterful stealth to infiltrate a dungeon hidden underground. He used a stolen Uchiha Dispelling Fan to blow away an unending bonfire blocking the path forward. As he walked, he wondered if this big secret will be worth the effort. Stolen documents told him a secret was stored here. Expectations of treasure mixed with tactical planning when Naruto assessed that this narrow tunnel would prove a useful base of operation.

              At the deepest end of this dungeon is a single loosely locked room. After picking his way in, Naruto finds the dry husk of a man sitting upright in a hard chair. After a brief inspection Naruto Uzumaki fanned a dispelling breeze into the man’s face. In response, the prisoner spat up and begin a deep laugh. “They thought I couldn’t see! They thought I wasn’t awake! They thought I wouldn’t know how Fugaku demanded they pluck out my borrowed eye on the honor of the Uchiha Clan; he offered to do it himself!”

              Naruto, confused and disinterested, said, “Who the fuck are you?”

              The thin body responded, “I am Danzo Shimura—commander of the Tactical Squ--” the rest of his phrase was stolen from him by another unsettling bubble of bile.

              Naruto corrected him, “Kakashi Hatake is commander of the Tactical Squad. Itachi Uchiha is sub-commander.”

              Danzo finally cleared his throat and exclaimed, “Next you’ll tell me Fugaku Uchiha serves as Shadow of Fire!?”

Naruto laughed, “You must be from another dimension. Tsunade Senju currently leads the village as Shadow of Fire. She is the Fifth person to fill the role.”

Danzo squinted through his right eye. His left eye socket and arm were covered in aged bandages. “Now I recognize your spikey blond hair, and those marks like whiskers on your face. You must be Minato’s son, Naruto the Fox. How old are you now? More importantly how long have I been under this Uchiha Curse?”

“Oh yeah now I remember! Danzo! They told everyone you were severely injured in a mission. Honestly, I had never even heard your name until they made a big fuss about your retirement and moving away. Well, if you don’t mind, I think I’m going to return you to that dream just to get you out of my way.” Naruto again waved the fan across Danzo’s face and he went back to his cursed sleep. Naruto closed the door again and, more for his own comfort of mind than of bodily safety, he placed a sealing talisman to lock the door by magic.

Finally, Naruto unrolled the heavy scroll. The mystical warrior sliced his finger and dropped a small blood sacrifice along the scroll. Then he initiated the magical preparation as detailed on the aged parchment; he presents the requisite ingredients and then holds his hands and fingers crossed in the hand sign of duplication. This spell created a series of doppelgangers in the shape of Naruto. These Body Doubles then created Doubles of their own for his operation. Then Naruto Uzumaki rallied his shadows, “Now is the time; our revolt is here!”

 

* * *

 

Act I

* * *

Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha ate at Ichiraku Ramen to celebrate their completion of the Jonin Exam and thereby full accreditation within the shinobi force. Sakura had suggested they have dinner here due to its spectacular view of the Monument of Fire. By bright moonlight the two could see giant stone likenesses of the Village’s leaders adorn the mountain around which this village is built. The monument serves to document the five historical leaders, and a new sculpture is created every time another is appointed.

Sakura wore a gown in a similar shade pink to her hair, while Sasuke wore a tall collared shirt emblazoned across the back with the red and white fan that serves as sigil of the Uchiha clan. As Sakura begins to talk with Sasuke about her feelings for him, her chance is smothered when they are joined by his older brother, Itachi. Instead, Sakura shared, “Before the Exam I was Lady Tsunade’s student and I helped with much of her work. I think I’d like to be Shadow of Fire one day.”

Sasuke rudely interrupts, “You have to have impressive powers to be Shadow of Fire and unfortunately healing isn’t flashy enough. You need to do something monumental like invent the Transportation Technique (what Lord Second did) or something utilitarian like perfect it and make it suitable for widespread use (what Lord Fourth did).”

Sakura punched Sasuke roughly in the back of the head which knocked his ramen into his lap and said, “Lady Tsunade literally taught me her famous medical techniques! I can heal an open wound with my bare hands! Can you do that, Sasuke? Or do you spend all your time talking to crows and breathing fire?”

Sasuke defends himself, “I also command lightening! Anyway, nothing you or I have is better than anything Itachi has and you’re not young enough to be the next generation (why Grandma Tsunade was chosen over our father, Fugaku) so I’m sorry but Itachi is going to be the Sixth Shadow of Fire not you.”

Itachi takes a pause from his ramen to argue, “The role of Shadow of Fire is one powerful position in a wide and corrupt system of shinobi power. If you want to serve, then use your influence to help people. Tsunade’s creation of the medical corps has spread knowledge of restorative magic. Sakura, you are a great example of a person from working class background whose talent with healing magic wouldn’t have been discovered under the hierarchical and profit driven way our society organizes knowledge and techniques. By mandating service in the shinobi forces, though, the overarching system still requires the medical corps to support the village’s military institution. Even if I was appointed Shadow of Fire, the available structures wouldn’t allow me to order, ‘Peace with all villages immediately; make magical scrolls free and open to the public; abolish the shinobi system’. I have interest only in serving as Shadow of Nothing. There are more signs of success than continuing to craft powerful spells and waging war against the other villages.”

Sakura connected deeply with Itachi’s words but Sasuke continued his monologue as if uninterrupted, “The Uchiha Clan is the most powerful in the village (after the Senju Clan). If all goes well for us until Grandma Tsunade croaks, then Itachi will be the next Shadow of Fire and the first from the Uchiha Clan!”

“Your clan shouldn’t have anything to do with how likely you are to hold office.” Sakura commented.

“Grandma Tsunade is three out of five from the Senju Clan! We need to combat nepotism, but you’re not even from a shinobi clan, so—hey where are you going?!” By the time Sasuke had noticed the change in her mood, she had already stormed off.

Itachi told his younger brother to follow and apologize.

Sasuke’s Red Wheel Eyes found Sakura by spotting her pink hair out of a crowd. He soon realized what they all were staring at.

Through his clans famous Visual Technique, Sasuke could see a glowing dot float through the sky. Sasuke reported to Sakura, “I see a snake as white as death flying through the sky on feathered wings. It seems to be increasing in speed as it laps the village repeatedly. My Red Wheel Eyes can tell that it is using magic to draw clouds around its body.” Sasuke stopped his narration as its effect became evident.

Naruto’s Winged Snake continued to draw magical air into a white spiral. A steady breeze began and as the Snake increased in speed, the winds rapidly intensified. The Winged Snake eventually summoned an entire hurricane deep within the endless forest. Trees are torn out of the ground and thrown high into the sky, only to land haphazardly on village buildings. A nearby lake is drawn into the storm and the villagers are made soggy by rain. The storm walls maintained its position, holding the village neatly within the eye of the storm. The technique known as the Barrier Tempest has been set in place to separate the village from the outside world.

The next thing which attracts the attention of Sasuke’s Red Wheel Eyes is a flaming presence in a familiar shade of gold.

Naruto Uzumaki greeted his old friend and teammate by throwing a knife at Sasuke. Itachi arrived in time to sightlessly threw his own blade to deflect Uzumaki’s away from his brother. Though no one was hit by the flying metal, the tension caused all untrained bystanders to flee the site.

Sakura stood closest to the returning shinobi and reprimanded him, “Be careful where you throw that! What are you doing here?”

“I am here to destroy the Village Hidden by Tree Leaves!” Then Naruto performed a technique known to Wind Style shinobi as the Hurricane Shuriken; winds blew his messy blonde hair as he crafted a magical spiral of air. When the wind gusts had condensed into a glowing blue ball about the size of his torso, Naruto threw it in the direction of Sakura and her Uchiha guests. The Hurricane Shuriken passed them and instead careened into the mountain bearing the carvings of the Shadows of Fire. The Hurricane Shuriken detonates with a force powerful enough to turn the stone faces into a landslide. Buildings and roads along that edge of the Village are damaged by falling noses and engraved eyes.

Soon after this, a harbinger of order arrived in a cloud of gray smoke. “I am Lady Tsunade of the Senju Clan--The Fifth Shadow of Fire! You are Naruto once of Clan Uzumaki--Host of the Nine Tailed Fox Spirit! We’ve seen none of your tails since you deserted this village after a disastrous Chunin Exam resulted in the death of the prior Shadow of Fire, Hiruzen Sarutobi. You returned the exact day where many of my top shinobi are away from the village or recovering from the Jonin Exam so it’s clear that we have been thoroughly infiltrated. Tell me why you are here now; why do you throw bombs around my village?!”

“I seek revenge on a town which used me as tool for its own imperial gain! Eighteen years ago, today, I was born. On that day, The Village Hidden by Tree Leaves was attacked by a savage Fox Spirit. My father—the Fourth Shadow of Fire, Minato Namikaze—gave his life to seal the creature’s spirit within my infant body. Rather than thanking me, the people of this village alienated me and pushed me away. I was kept close enough to be used as a child soldier, but never fully accepted into the community. When the snake shinobi Orochimaru attacked this village during my Chunin Exam, I allowed myself to be taken by him to his Village Hidden in Whispers. I quickly learned that he too only wanted me for the powerful spirit sealed within my body. He attempted to compel his soul into my body, but the Fox Spirit and I rejected him. I have known nothing but manipulation and war since birth! Now I return to the heartland; this time I come as assailant rather than savior.”

Lady Tsunade responded, “You have been nothing but a thorn in my side since the day I accepted the role of Shadow of Fire. If you’re looking for an apology, you should have asked before using dangerous techniques so haphazardly in a populated area.”

Sasuke calls, “It’s a Body Double, Lady Tsunade! Be careful!”

To which the Shadow of Fire replies “I don’t need those fancy Red Wheel Eyes to know that, Uchiha!” she addresses her recently graduated student, “Sakura Haruno, what is the progress on that technique I asked you not to show anyone—not even for the Jonin Exams?”

Sasuke expressed surprise but Sakura said, “I was going to demonstrate my mastery during the meeting we have scheduled tomorrow; To update you now, I have nearly perfected it in trial performances.”

The Fifth Shadow of Fire delivers a command to her subordinates, “Sakura’s secret technique will only be useful against the real Naruto. Itachi, I am assigning you to formal leadership of Team 7 on this S ranked mission. Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha, Sakura Haruno—find Naruto Uzumaki and cease this senseless afront!”

The Body Double created its own Body Doubles, one of which leaved to pursue Team 7 but others which run away to cause their own mischief.

Three Body Doubles remain to confront Lady Tsunade. Naruto has the numerical advantage, but Lady Tsunade is famous for her astounding strength and resilience.

Naruto’s Doubles cornered Tsunade against a wide building. The multiple Doubles blew a flurry of smaller wind shuriken to shred either Tsunade or, if she dodges, whatever was on the other side of the wall. Lady Tsunade chose to accept the brunt of the attack and felt hundreds of invisible knives slicing her skin. The Body Doubles assume they have dealt a severe blow but were surprised to see Tsunade’s wounds heal before their eyes. Rather than sustain lasting damage, her skin grew ashy and wrinkled.

Lady Tsunade turned to the offensive and soon, only one of Naruto’s Body Doubles remains.

Naruto mocks Tsunade, “You should be embarrassed that you signed off on all those bogus missions. I forged documents to lead away many of the Village’s most capable warriors. It was easy to disguise myself as one of your many intern assistants. I would say my Transformation Technique is perfect, wouldn’t you?” then he took on the shape of how he believes Tsunade to look in the nude.

The Shadow of Fire was insulted by this childish jest. She used the technique created by her ancestor, the Second Shadow of Fire—Tobirama Senju, and teleported within striking distance. Tsunade’s bone dry fist reaches from within the characteristic cloud of smoke, and she grabbed the Body Double by the neck which broke his transformation spell. Lady Tsunade then slams him to the ground with such force the pavement shatters under his skull. Lady Tsunade’s words were as strong as her grip when she said, “I hope the real Naruto is listening; if you ever pull that disgusting stunt again, you’ll wish you were just a Body Double.” Then she stomps forcefully on his back, finally releasing the spell and dispersing the fake Naruto into smoke and dust.

Tsunade looks around to see that there is much collateral damage. She can hear and see the signs of battles raging throughout the village she leads. Kakashi Hatake—commander of the Tactical Squad, Might Guy—head of Team 9, and Shizune—head of the medical corps, arrive each in their own cloud of grey smoke. Shizune began to apologize for their tardiness but Tsunade wearily commands them to begin triage measures and to defeat any other Body Doubles they can find.

Tsunade performed a séance to summon the Slug Queen Katsuyu. This forest spirit takes on the shape of a human sized slug. The Spirit shares a healing slime which restores Tsunade’s skin to a radiant texture. Tsunade asks Lady Katsuyu to summon her children and aid Shizune in the triage mission. The Queen’s pores opened wide and dozens of tiny slugs crawled from within the Queen’s body to assist injured bystanders. Tsunade marks the difference between the way Lady Katsuyu uses her thrall legions and the way Naruto uses his.

* * *

 

Act II

* * *

 

Team 7 searched the village for Naruto. They checked the apartment where Naruto once lived and apologized to the family living there now for the interruption. The top of the hill which bears the remnants of the Monument of Fire is a common resting area and meeting spot. The rain and the winds and the Hurricane Shuriken, however, made this area difficult to climb. Sasuke’s Red Wheel Eye did not see Naruto’s presence from where they stood, and so they looked elsewhere.

Their search also found that the shinobi school had been canceled and the students sent home. At the empty playground, Sasuke commented, “We’re lucky Naruto didn’t just copy himself an army and rush the front gate.”

Itachi corrected his brother, “The more Doubles that are created, the weaker each one becomes. At most, I can create two Body Doubles, but that effort would leave my physical body drained. Naruto evidently has trained to draw from the Fox Spirit’s deep pools of energy and create a platoon of powerful puppets. He also demonstrates impressive range for such complex control.”

Sasuke then nagged Sakura about the secret technique. She told him to verify one last time that his Red Wheel Eyes could detect no more Body Doubles or other magic nearby. Sasuke reluctantly agreed but found that one Body Double is trailing them from atop the school building.

To engage Naruto’s servant in battle, each of Team 7’s members employed a basic shinobi technique and ran upward along the rain slick school wall. Once on the roof, Itachi used hand signals to cast a paralyzing illusion technique on Naruto’s Body Double. Sasuke attempted the Great Fire Ball Technique but it was severely weakened by the heavy and wet winds. While the Body Double was still dazed by Itachi’s Illusion, Sasuke had the time to recover and throw a knife at it. The pain freed Naruto’s clone from its trance, but by now Sakura has arrived to wallop the clone out of existence.

Afterwards, Sasuke again insisted that Sakura tell him about her technique but Itachi interrupted with irritated tone, “If you focus on the task at hand, we will eventually learn Tsunade and Sakura’s secret.”

Sasuke’s patience had run out. “I can barely see when it’s raining in my eyes!” He casts his Red Eyes into the sky. His magical vision sees the entire storm wall as a mass of energy. He endeavors to peer closer and search for the Winged Snake and its death white feathers. He frustratedly said, “We should have started with this,” and then he blew an ornate whistle.

In response, a cloud of gray smoke gave way to a gigantic Black Crow. Upon the room, the bird took in its surroundings. The huge black bird bartered in human language, “I would argue hail is an adverse condition and under the conditions of our Summoning Contract I am eligible for extra compensation for my efforts.”

Sasuke mounted the bird’s black back and with frustrated tone he said, “Send the bill to my father! We need to take that Snake out of the sky!”

Without input from the rest of his team, Sasuke and his crow companion took into the sky. Sasuke’s feathered ally struggled to fly against the winds generated from the Barrier Tempest. Sasuke wiped rain from his eyes, and he could see the Winged Snake still guiding cursed winds. He pointed toward the magic only Uchiha eyes could see and direct the Crow higher, into an interception path with the Winged Snake.

Sharp hail and blasts of thunder erupt from the cyclonic clouds but Sasuke is undaunted. A streak of lightening arcs toward Sasuke and his crow, but the shinobi caught the bolt in his bare hands. He used lightening magic to mold this energy into a spear shaped attack called One Thousand Birds, named as a result of the chirping sound made by lightening super heating air. Sasuke then hefted that javelin of lightening at the Winged Snake. The serpent was struck, and as it fell from the sky the Barrier Tempest was lifted.

Sakura and Itachi were still atop the village shinobi school. The last of the rain fell from the sky, which briefly increased the amount of rain falling where they sat. The winds gradually let up and the clouds dispersed.

The Black Crow glides back to the school building roof and leaves Sasuke with the rest of Team 7. Sakura and Itachi begin to congratulate Sasuke for his work in stopping the Barrier, but Sasuke is frantic when he informs his teammates, “I saw Naruto’s chakra as I returned to the village! He’s hiding under our house; he’s at the Uchiha Manor!”

 

Itachi leads Sakura and Sasuke to the hearth in the meeting room of the Uchiha Manor. Uchiha civilians were mainly asleep in their beds. Itachi waved a red and white Uchiha fan to blow out the fireplace and below this they found a hidden stairwell.

Itachi shared a dark family secret at they walked down the long path, “This tunnel is Danzo Shimura’s prison. When Sasuke was a child, Danzo ordered me to slay the entirety of the Uchiha clan. I disobeyed his order and burnt my Red Wheel Eyes to lock him in an illusion that would halt his plot. This is a secret The Third Shadow of Fire brought with him to the grave.”

Sakura decides not to ask what happens if or when Danzo awakes from the illusion.

 

Team 7 finds Naruto hidden at the end of the Uchiha Dungeon. They try to win Naruto over in debate.

One of Lady Katsuyu’s small slug spirits follows Sakura's scent and arrives to share that few people were harmed in Naruto’s attacks. The slug sprite spoke in a soft song, “He focused on damaging objects and symbols rather than harming people. Kakashi reports that the Body Double he battled was found painting obscenities on the Tower of Fire. As they fought, Naruto tallied aloud the damage to property. Shizune had a deep conversation with one Body Double on the unfairness of putting children through dangerous shinobi training at a young age. Might Guy can’t bring himself to put down the Body Double he found. At my last check they were still racing laps along the side of the village wall. All of Naruto's Bodies have only picked fights with talented shinobi, not random civilians.”

Naruto explained his praxis, “The Village Hidden by Tree Leaves survives by ensuring that the worst curses land in other people’s villages. I showed the leaf shinobi what it looks like when the war comes home to our forest! Even in that, though, I wanted to avoid harming the common people of the village who do not directly take part in the shinobi system.”

With this, Sakura realized that Naruto’s actions are more of an emotional and political polemic than an entropic tantrum. Though this information made her more sympathetic to Naruto’s situation, Sasuke instead laughed punitively, “You mean barely any one is even hurt? We were acting like Naruto was a real threat and now we know for a fact that he didn’t even manage to get anybody with all his Windy Shuriken!”

Sakura chastised Sasuke, “Why on earth would you say that!? Why do you have to bully and belittle everyone! We were having a civil conversation and then you jabbed him with your words! Over not _hurting enough_ people?!”

While their attention was drawn away, Naruto’s embarrassment cut deeply enough to awaken the Fox. That moment of spiritual weakness allowed the Fox Spirit to boil through its seal and shroud Naruto’s body with its glowing, ghostly form. His hands and teeth were magically hewn into claws and fangs. The Fox stoked Naruto’s agitation and lead him to slash at Sasuke. Itachi pushed his brother out of the way and was gravely wounded in his stead.

Sasuke’s vision slowed to a stop when he watched his brother take that critical blow. A reciprocal pain filled his left eye as his sight is pinned on Naruto’s bloody claw. Sasuke’s eyes bled as his Red Wheel Eyes evolved into a red and black swirl. Sasuke focused all his hate at Naruto, and a plume of black flame erupted from the focal point of his vision. Naruto shook his claw trying to end the cursed flame, but it would not blow out. Uchiha Clan scrolls tell of an ability known as the Eye of the Sun Goddess which creates an ever-burning black flame simply by gaze. It is awakened by experiencing extreme emotional pain.

Sakura quickly moved to stabilize Itachi’s wound. She channeled healing energy to the palms of her hands, and they began to glow with a bright pink light. Using her Mystical Palms Technique, she applied a heavy pressure to Itachi’s chest wound. Her hands encouraged Itachi’s torn muscle and lacerated bone to regrow at impossible speeds. Itachi felt this sensation as a curious burn, but one for which he is thankful.

Naruto chased Sasuke down the long dungeon hall. The two mystical warriors exchanged black fire and blades of wind as they run. Naruto created another Hurricane Shuriken and the Fox Spirit imbues it with disastrous energy. The shockwave from Naruto’s hurricane blew open the tunnel roof and gusty zephyrs knocked Sasuke into the morning sky.

As he soared, Sasuke blew an ornate whistle. A giant crow arrived and allowed Sasuke to land on its black feathers. From this height, Sasuke looks down on a sinkhole created in the courtyard outside the main Uchiha Manor. Then, he watched Naruto’s glowing body reach the surface and look around.

The Crow squawked, “You’re racking up quite the tab today, Uchiha!”

Sasuke said, “My father is good for it, I promise! Naruto’s rage is all pointed at me, so we need to draw him away from this inhabited area.” To this aim, Sasuke created dark fire with his Eyes of the Sun Goddess and pelted the Fox possessed Naruto with black embers to draw him gradually away from the village.

Sakura stayed in the dungeon to apply aid to Itachi. As the wound ceased to bleed and the most sensitive layers of dermis had regenerated, Sakura spoke with a heavy voice, “I hate to ask this of a patient under my care, and especially one with a wound like yours, but Itachi can you heal the rest from here? Those idiots will kill each other before long; I’m the only one who can stop them!”

Itachi nodded and sat up to lean against the underground wall. He and the slug sprite applied medical ointments and other comparatively rudimentary healing techniques as Sakura Haruno ran to catch up with her feuding friends.

* * *

Act III

* * *

The Valley of the End has a longstanding history of rivals clashing under its steep waterfall. This gorge was carved into the earth during the legendary battle between the First Shadow of Fire, Hashirama Senju, and his rival, Madara Uchiha. Their truce lead to the foundation of the Village Hidden by Tree Leaves. Naruto and Sasuke echoed their footsteps when Naruto first fled the village and Sasuke was unable to stop him. Now, Sasuke decides that this area is far enough away that no people or buildings would be destroyed by the rampaging Nine Tailed Fox Spirit and its enraged host.

Some argue that the waterfall represents a whole figure—the river, the team, the clan, the village—having been severed but continuing to run, nonetheless. Others say that the pieces of the river represent a pair of like figures; closely related though they both stand on their own. Just as water leaps heroically from a high cliff and clashes with its peer in the basin below, so too do these warriors joust with mystical might.

Naruto Uzumaki and his Fox Spirit bound over the ledge holding a catastrophic hurricane in their claw; A Spear of Lightening leaps from the heavens into Sasuke Uchiha’s hand. Just before the friends-turned-enemies collided, Sakura Haruno arrived and struck them both in the backs of their heads. Naruto and Sasuke’s deadly techniques miss their marks and instead devastate the valley. “You really thought you were going to leave me out?” She reprimanded.

But this only served to further enrage the Fox Spirit which then took full control over Naruto’s body. The shroud of magic energy coalesced into real fur and tails. Sasuke and Sakura were stared down by a fox bigger than an ox. Each of the Giant Fox’s nine tails whippped up a different calamity. One long tail sent a lick of flame, another struck the ground and caused a severe a tremor, a third tail lifted the river into a tall wave.

Sakura goaded the tired Sasuke, “What did you say earlier about either inventing or perfecting a historic technique? Lady Tsunade let me peak at old Senju Clan scrolls that concerned control of forest spirits. After Naruto ran away, we needed someone who could contain the Fox Spirit. I’ll let you be the judge of whether I perfected the First Shadow of Fire’s Wood Style! I just need your help to close the distance.”

Sasuke again called his Lightening Spear and charged the Nine Tailed Fox with Sakura close in his wake. The Fox Spirit whipped its disaster laden tails to launch sharp torrents of wind or booming bursts of flames against the encroaching duo. Sasuke’s electric blade parried all attacks. When they reached striking distance, Sasuke made the first high stab to force the Fox Spirit into a low crouch.

Sakura then performed the hand sign representing the earthly snake; both hands clasped, and fingers crossed in the shape of a mountain or a snake’s coil. With a full throat Sakura Haruno shouted, “Wood Style: Blossom of the Spring Technique!” and bright flowers grew from Sakura’s footsteps. Vines in colors of pinks and browns formed in her fist, which she then used to strike the Fox Spirit. The Fox was thrown backwards by the concussive force of Sakura’s punch.

Spring branches then grew from the site of Sakura’s strike, down past the Fox’s paws and into the ground. A bush baring soft bark and deeply pink petals grew to envelope the angry spirit. Naruto’s Fox Spirit promptly ripped through the bark to free itself. The Fox ran and slashed at Sakura, who grew hard branches from her arm to halt and tangle the sharp claw. The Fox tried to whip Sakura with a few of its tails, but Sasuke shocked them away using his Lightening Spear. Sakura commanded a steady root to grow and immobilize the Fox’s hind legs. Then she knocked the Fox unresponsive with a harsh punch to the end of the Spirit’s snout.

Sakura encouraged a thick trunk to grow and restrain the Spirit with Nine Tails. Wood spread to cover the Fox’s fire red fur. Vines entangled its tails and then hardened, binding them within spiraling branches. Deeply pink petals bloomed and shed a light aroma which lulled the Spirit Beast into a drowsy trance. The Fox finally fell into a deep sleep as the leaves and branches of Sakura’s tree drew out its energy. The Fox Spirit’s tails receded, and it shed its fur to reveal the sleeping young man within. A field of grass began to grow from the base of the tree and flowers soon covered the Valley of the End.

Sakura explained, “This spell returns the spirit’s energy to the forest. I use up just about all my endurance just casting and fostering the plants, but once I’ve made contact the spell runs by exhausting the forest spirit’s magic. The grass and cherry blossom trees will feed from the Fox Spirit and turn even this water swept basin into a pink oasis.”

Sasuke sat in the soft grass to rest briefly, and then vines and petals grew to heal his wounds.

After a while Naruto awoke and while still locked within the branches of the tree he announced, “Sakura, I wasn’t ignoring you! I didn’t want to fight you! I thought after I destroyed the village and got rid of that Uchiha third wheel, we would go out on a date or mayb--“

Sakura explains curtly, “I haven’t been sitting around this whole time daydreaming of you the way you clearly have been of me. While I respect your conviction, Naruto, your actions tonight were very unattractive. I am just not interested in you that way.”

With those words, Naruto is finally defeated. “I wish that things were different between us but at the end of the day, I want to make you happy, Sakura, however I can! Besides, this whole thing wasn’t just about that, it’s also about showing the people of the Tree Leaves the faults in our ways!”

Sakura replied, “We agree that the shinobi system of assigning social and political power to whoever boasts the most powerful magic must be abolished. The fault I see is where you criticize the power and the danger, even though you only know how to respond in like manner. Naruto, and Sasuke, and the whole shinobi system all focus on using our abilities to externalize our problems and make them other people’s problems. I do not want to be Shadow of Fire to show my dominance or that of my clan, or that of my village. I want to demonstrate that we can use these mystical gifts to heal and learn, not just for war.”

 

Epilogue

* * *

Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke arrived at the top floor of the Tower of Fire, the physical space where the Shadow of Fire holds their office. There they found Tsunade checking the progress of Itachi’s healing. Lady Tsunade takes on the role of educator as she critiques Sakura’s work, “I had to make some adjustments to the scaffolding of the musculature but given that the procedure was performed in unideal circumstances, I’m impressed.”

Anxiety briefly stopped Sakura from confronting Tsunade. She looked through the window to see Earth Style sculptors recreating the Monument of Fire. Sakura took a deep breath before speaking about the need to revolutionize the shinobi system, “We don’t need to fix the old monument, we need to build new ones; the same goes for the institutions of our society! We need to end the privileges allotted to the shinobi class. Keeping shinobi techniques shrouded in mystery only serves to stoke competition within the clans and between the villages. We need to make all scrolls public. Everyone, whether they are part of a shinobi clan or not, should have access to adequate self-defense and healing techniques. We need to tie the possession of shinobi skills to a duty to use them for the common good."

Lady Tsunade contends, "With all techniques known to everyone and no honors delivered to great deeds, what incentive will people have to progress?"

Itachi spoke to refine the point, “Imagine how we all will progress when greatness is defined by the significance of your contributions, not by the size of your explosion. We understand that you cannot mandate this cultural shift by Decree of Fire, but this office could lead a paradigm shift if they act with commitment and principle. We will only know peace through radical reorganization of our way of life.”

Lady Tsunade sighs, “I’ve been fighting for decades. Many important people in my life have been taken from me over this shinobi business. I even came out of retirement just to sit at this desk pushing paperwork all day. Honestly, I give up. If you’re so sure you’d do a better job, then you kids can take over. You'll have to defeat the Village Parliament either in debate or in combat to get your public scroll library. With Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha serving as Jonin witnesses I, Lady Tsunade of the Senju Clan, abdicate the Shadow of Fire to my former student, Lady Sakura Haruno.”                                                                                                                

 


End file.
